Taipei police question man over MRT threat

Cheng Chieh killed four people and wounding 21 others in a vicious attack aboard a Taipei subway train.

TAIPEI - The Criminal Investigation Division of the Taipei City Police Department yesterday interviewed a man who posted a message on his social media page that warned of an upcoming attack on the Taipei Metro.

A man surnamed Chou said on a social media message set to display exclusively to his Facebook friends that his acquaintances should to refrain from riding the train lines that will pass through MRT Ximen, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Guting stations on July 12. The message warned of the likely appearance of a second Cheng Chieh (鄭捷), the now infamous MRT stabbing assailant. The man also explained his reason behind the friends-only post was that he feared the message would have him arrested.

Following panic from his Facebook friends as a result of his posting, officers of the Criminal Investigation Division conducted an investigative interview of Chou, who lead the police to two other individuals with the last names Hsu and Hsieh for further information on his message.

Attack Panic Defused Following Investigative Interviews

Reportedly, Chou told police that he had posted the message after hearing of the threat from Hsieh, who had been listening to his depressed former coworker Hsu. Hsu had allegedly said "wait till the 12…" while talking about the MRT with Hsieh.

According to the police, all three individuals were employed by a company outsourced by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC). The job of all three men was to guard the security gates on MRT platforms for the safety of passengers. After being laid-off, Hsu had said threatening words to Hsieh out of anger. Allegedly, Hsu said that his words were only words and that he has never thought of harming anyone.

All three men have been released, with the authorities stating that should potential criminal activities occur, proper legal actions will be taken.